


Covert Operations

by Too_Much_Fandom



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Abernathy is a creep, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Forbidden Love, MACUSA sucks, Newt and Jacob BroTP, Newt and Tina are dorks in love, Non-Consensual Groping, Period-Typical Sexism, Protective!Newt, Swearing, Tina and Queenie sisterly relationship, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, badass!Newt, badass!Tina, workplace sexual harrassment/abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-14 16:05:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14772800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Too_Much_Fandom/pseuds/Too_Much_Fandom
Summary: After Grindelwald's escape, MACUSA implements some new policies in the name of increased security, including a rule that forbids their employees from getting romantically involved with employees of foreign governments. This presents a problem for Newt and Tina's budding relationship...





	1. A New Crackdown

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a small idea I wanted to explore and morphed into a multi-chapter fic. We all know Jacob and Queenie are dealing with a forbidden relationship; I wanted to explore what it would be like if Newt and Tina were for some reason forbidden to each other, and here we are! I hope I did it justice. Although there is nothing explicit or graphic, I did rate it M due to some difficult themes. The rape/non-con tag is due to some sexually abusive behavior, but doesn't go as far as rape, so keep in mind if deciding whether or not to proceed.

Two days. She still couldn't wrap her head around it, but trying to understand it wasn't going to help anyone. All they could do now was work with what they had and try to keep things as safe as they could with Grindelwald at large once again. 

 

In addition to the outright fear and panic, MACUSA was also badly embarrassed. In light of Piquery’s words at the last emergency ICW meeting (oh how clearly Tina remembered how her voice rang out imperiously, “I will not be lectured by the man who let Gellert Grindelwald slip through his fingers”) they had a lot of egg on their faces now. And now all MACUSA employees were sitting in the same great hall, waiting to hear Piquery's remarks on the current crisis.

 

“In light of the events of two days ago,” she began, “we've taken new measures to tighten security. All of you will be receiving new IDs with enhanced security features by the end of the week. All law enforcement personnel will be receiving watches fitted with a protean charm for quick communication in an emergency. All employees are subject to random background checks and audits by MACUSA for any reason. Failure to comply will result in automatic suspension, possible termination of employment, and possible imprisonment. Sentences for any involvement with No-majs are doubled, effective immediately. No MACUSA employee may become involved with any foreign government employee, not even our allies. Anyone who does so will have their employment terminated immediately. We are tightening up our immigration laws to bring them in line with the act that the No-Maj Congress passed back in ‘24. Pamphlets with safety information will be sent out to all American wizarding families in the coming days. Lastly, although he is far from fully recuperated, Director Graves will be resuming as many of his duties as he is physically able to, so you will be seeing him back here in the next few days. I need hardly remind you all that this is a crisis of epic proportions and we rely on your full compliance and cooperation with the above measures. Thank you.” 

 

As they all filed out to head back to their departments, Tina couldn't help feeling that familiar new cynicism creeping. Just about two months ago, her life had been forever changed when a British wizard quite literally stumbled into her life and showed her a side of the world she had never seen before. And ever since then, she'd been questioning everything she thought was true about the government she’d always trusted. She finally had her old job back, but she didn't feel as thrilled as she thought she would be. Instead, every day she now found new things that grated on her. She stayed on. It probably wouldn't last forever, but for the foreseeable future, it was her only choice for supporting herself and her sister. 

 

And now these new measures...it was a crushing blow. Newt was coming to visit in just 10 days and this scuttled all her plans and hopes. Oh, she still wanted to see him. She had signed up for that weekend off in the rotation as soon as he'd told her when he was coming and she was still going to spend time with him. She was also thrilled to be on the team being sent to England for 6 weeks for a liason mission in mid March. But now, trying to see if things could go to the next level with Newt was out of the question. It wasn't fair. Most of what MACUSA did wasn't fair, she was coming to realize. But she had no choice. She couldn't take chances, not right now. 

 

Tina's bad mood nonetheless perked up when she got home and saw a new letter from Newt. She tore it open and began to read:

 

_ Dear Tina, _

 

_ There's been a bit of a snag in the plans, but no worries I'll still be here on March 4, like I said I would. The problem is, my application for an entry visa was denied. Seems despite how I helped them Macusa still won't forget the trouble I caused either. Well, I don't care, I'm coming anyway, but obviously can't do it by magical means as I've been denied permits. So I'll be coming in by muggle ship, just like last time. No one will know. No one was supposed to know in December either, and I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for that meddling niffler…and I can assure you it won't happen again because I won't be bringing the case. I have an assistant now, Bunty. She's very good and I feel confident leaving the case with her for the duration of my trip. Still bringing Pickett though. You don't mind, do you? He doesn't cause trouble and knows to stay hidden, especially after what happened with Gnarlak. Don't bother to dissuade me, because I'm coming. A little trifle like MACUSA’s visa denial is not going to stop me. And don't worry about me, Tina, because worrying means you suffer twice! _

 

_ In other news, because I'm not enough of a loose cannon, I'm going to be bringing Jacob's memories back. I have an antidote. An old schoolmate, Horace Slughorn reached out to me recently. It was strange really. He never spoke two words to me in school. He actually was in my brother’s year. Theseus quite loathed him, although he was in Gryffindor house and Horace was in Slytherin and Gryffindors and Slytherins pretty much hate each other on principle. As a Hufflepuff, I didn't really take sides in that rivalry. Horace has always had a bit of a reputation for being overly interested in anyone who could do something for him. So I guess now that I've been in the news lately, between the New York incident and my upcoming book, the man suddenly wants to know me and came to call. He's been potions master at Hogwarts the last couple of years and I got the idea to ask for his help. I shared my research on the Swooping Evil venom and he was intrigued and agreed to help me come up with an antidote for Jacob. We tested it on ourselves and it has no dangerous side effects, just a bit of a tendency for excessive feelings of deja Vu for a couple of days. Don't bother dissuading me from this either. Working with Horace reminded me of how few friends I have in this world. He was perfectly lovely to me, but he's no friend. He just likes the company of famous people. Jacob is a true friend, and I want him back. I know you'll understand even if you're worried about what might happen if discovered. It's a risk I'll have to take.  _

 

_ As a precaution, I'll be staying at a muggle hotel. I should be at the Bristol on west 48th street by dinner time on Friday the 4th. You're welcome to come by as soon as you're off work. I'm not going anywhere. I'm very much looking forward to seeing you and sharing my book.  _

 

_ Fondest regards, _

_ Newt _

 

As usual, Newt's letter left her feeling a combination of amusement, affection, and exasperation. But she wasn't about to complain about seeing him, even if he was going to be breaking the law again. At least he was taking reasonable precautions this time. And Jacob. She understood. She worried, about Newt, Jacob, and Queenie, but she knew it was right. Queenie deserved to have Jacob back. And so did Newt. It wasn't the first time he'd mentioned his lack of friends, and Tina's heart broke every time he said it. Newt didn't deserve to be treated like that. It was nothing less than a great shame that so few appreciated this incredible wizard and she dearly hoped the release of his book would change that. 

 

Tina got out her supplies to pen a reply:

 

_ Dear Newt, _

 

_ I'm not going to attempt to dissuade you. Not only because you're so stubborn as to make it pointless, but because I actually agree even if I cannot condone your plans in any way. I worry and do hope you really are careful, but I want to see you and I want to have Jacob back with us. Do what you will, and I will simply feign ignorance. I will definitely come by as soon as I'm off work. I can't give a definite time, but unless it's ridiculously late, I will be there.  _

 

_ Looking forward, _

_ Tina _

 

As soon as she was done writing, Queenie popped out of the bedroom. Of course, Tina smiled to herself, Queenie had been home the whole time but had given Tina her space until she finished her letter. It was one of the nice things about living with a legilimens. 

 

“Hey Teenie! I know you've got a lot going on up there. Chat over dinner?”

 

“Yeah,” Tina replied, “and you have my permission to do most of the talking,” she grinned. 

 

“What is up with MACUSA?” Queenie pounded the table indignantly as they ate their soup, “it's not enough they have to make rules about wizard-No-Maj relationships, now they have to get involved in fully wizard relationships too?” 

 

Tina looked up sadly.

 

“You know, Teen? Screw 'em! You know I'm getting back with Jacob as soon as his memory's back- yeah, I caught that part that Newt's gonna do it, how could I not- and I think you oughtta just go ahead with him, MACUSA be damned!”

 

“Queenie, you know I couldn't, the potential consequences...besides, we don't even know there's anything between-”

 

“Oh come on!” Queenie burst out, “you know full well there's the start of something. It's not for nothing you went along with me fixing you a new hairstyle and wardrobe the day Newt told you when he was coming! You know full well you were planning to do your part to move things along!”

 

“But now with the latest regulations-”

 

“Fuck the regulations!” Queenie swore most uncharacteristically, “MACUSA’s put you through enough crap and you're finally starting to see it. It's about time you started living for yourself!”

 

Tina looked up at Queenie, her face full of pain because she wanted so badly to do just that. 

 

“I won't bring it up again until he gets here,” Queenie gently placed a hand on Tina's, “but just think about it, will you? Consider what I said about finding a way to make it work…”

 

Tina turned away silently, but squeezed her sister's hand. She knew Queenie was right. And a battle raged on inside her.


	2. Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt is back in New York, ready to reunite with his friends! Two special reunions ahead...

Newt stood before a customs official just as he had only three months prior. 

  


“British, huh?” 

  


“Yes,” Newt answered, hopefully not too shiftily.

  


“And you were just here back in December…?” the official asked suspiciously.

  


“Well, I um, I made some new friends last time I was here and-” he surreptitiously shifted his wand, ready to confund his questioner. But to his surprise, the man smiled conspiratorially. 

  


“Oh I get it, you fell for a nice doll when you were last here,” he said cheekily. 

  


“Er-” Newt blushed madly. The fellow wasn't wrong...

  


“No need to be embarrassed, I see it all the time,” the man stamped Newt's passport and handed it back to him, “welcome to New York, and good luck with your Sheba!” he winked. Newt nodded in acknowledgement and sped off. 

  


He pulled out the address Queenie had given him. It was almost noon and it was time to put his plan with Jacob into action. He smiled as he approached the bakery, seeing the creature pastries. Of course Tina had already told him about that, but it was still a delight to see it for himself. He entered the shop and Jacob looked up as soon as the bell rang. He looked quizzically at Newt and then rubbed the side of his neck where the murtlap bite was. Newt could tell Jacob was trying to figure out why he felt like he knew Newt from somewhere. 

  


“Can-can I help you sir?” Jacob stammered, shaking himself out of the weird feeling that had just come over him.

  


Newt said nothing, but pulled an occamy eggshell out of his pocket and placed it on the counter. Jacob stared at the silver object, stunned, then looked up at Newt. “You-you...you must be the fella that gave me the case fulla silver!” Newt smiled and nodded, still not saying a word. 

  


“But why?” Jacob rubbed his bite again, “I have no idea who you are, how did you know I always dreamed of opening a bakery and why were you so generous...not that I mind of course, but still…”

  


Newt finally spoke. “It's...complicated. Why don't I treat you to lunch so I can explain.”

  


“Yeah, alright,” Jacob shook his benefactor’s hand ( _ British? Where on Earth did I meet a British guy? During the war? But then why don't I remember? _ ) and off they went to a small shop around the corner.

  


While Jacob was giving the waitress his order, Newt slipped the antidote into his coffee. Jacob turned back to the table, took a long sip and asked, “alright, Newt, did you say it was? Tell me this complicated story. How did-” Jacob stopped. His eyes went wide as he was flooded with all manner of memories suddenly pushing to the forefront. Newt sat patiently, waiting for it to all sort out. 

  


“Those creatures in my dreams…” he muttered and looked up at Newt, “those things are real! And-” he broke into a wide grin and shook Newt's hand enthusiastically and clapped him on the back, “Newt Scamander! Good to see you, old pal!” 

  


“Good to have you back, my friend,” Newt replied with relief that it had all gone off without a hitch so far. The two friends began to catch up as their food arrived. 

  


“You know, Queenie’s been stopping by every day. I was wondering why I feel so familiar with her,” Jacob shared, “well, I can't wait till she comes by this afternoon, she's gonna see I remember everything! We can be together again!” 

  


“I am so happy for you, I dearly wish the two of the best,” said Newt. 

  


“How about Tina?” asked Jacob, “anything…?”

  


“Well, um, I haven't seen her since returning to England, though we've been exchanging letters,” Newt muttered.

  


“So, is the plan to start something on this trip?” Jacob smiled knowingly. Newt blushed even harder than he had at customs.

  


“It's the hope, yes, but I don't know that she returns my affections…” he sighed. 

  


“Whoa whoa whoa,” Jacob cut in, “Newt, I know you two didn't hit it off to start, to say the least, but two days later it was more than obvious to Queenie and me that the both of you were totally goofy for each other!” He patted Newt on the shoulder and continued, “just be yourself. She appreciates you for who you are, be natural and when the moment is right, tell her.”

  


“But what if-”

  


“You're the one who told me worrying means you suffer twice, right?” Realization dawned on Newt's face that Jacob was right, it was silly to worry. “That settles it then, you're gonna go for it! I'm rootin for ya, buddy!” He patted Newt on the shoulder. 

  


“I gotta get going now, but see you soon. Let me know how it goes!” 

  


“Absolutely! Thank you Jacob,” Newt grinned. 

  


With Jacob gone, Newt paid and went to check in at the Bristol. He had a few hours, so took his time to rest and get ready for later.

  


**************************************************************************

  


Tina looked at the clock as she punched out. 8:30, not too bad! And as she had signed up for this weekend off, she was free till Monday, barring any emergencies of course. As she walked up the block to the hotel, she remained tormented. Queenie had reminded her this morning of their conversation over a week earlier (not that she'd forgotten) and she was still debating with herself. She wanted so badly to just do what she wanted and keep it hidden, yet was too scared of the risks of discovery. She finally found herself at Newt's door, so she took a deep breath  and reminded herself she may not even need to make a decision and if she did, she'd think about it then. With that, she knocked.

  


Newt stood at the door, same as she remembered him from three months ago, though there was definitely an upgrade in his clothing. Newt beckoned her in and then closed the door behind him. 

  


He looked like a deer in headlights as he took in her new appearance. She hoped this was a good kind of shock. Or maybe not, as that would make her life simpler…

  


“Tina,” he choked out, “you look different...a good different, it's well…” Was he supposed to say stunning? Gorgeous? That's what he thought, but no, he had to rein it in a bit. There would be time later in the weekend to tell her how beautiful she was. “You look wonderful,” he finally settled on. 

  


“You too,” Tina replied with a huge smile, “your new clothes suit you.” She gestured toward him, then hesitated, not sure if he was the hugging type (she wasn't really). Then she made a decision. 

  


“To hell with this, come here, I've missed you!” And she grabbed him in a big hug, which he warmly returned just as soon as he registered that  _ Tina was hugging him _ . They broke apart at the sound of some indignant squeaks. 

  


“Oh, I'm sorry Pickett!” Tina giggled as the little green stick creature poked out of Newt's pocket, “come here, I've missed you too!” Pickett hopped out onto Tina's outstretched hand and she placed a light kiss on his head. She could have sworn he turned a darker shade of green ( _ did bowtruckles blush?)  _ and then he hopped up to her shoulder and curled up contentedly. 

  


Newt chuckled. “You'll be glad to know we made up, but it hasn't been the same since,” Newt explained, “he's quite taken with you, has asked for you every day since we left. I think he likes you better now!” 

  


“Awww,” Tina stroked Pickett, “I love you too, Pick! Now tell me, you been keeping him in line?” Pickett squeaked and nodded. 

  


“Now now, I'm not that much in need of babysitting, am I?” Newt crossed his arms in mock indignation. 

  


“Oh, you are,” Tina deadpanned. Then they looked at each other and both broke down laughing. 

  


“It's so nice to be back,” exclaimed Newt. 

  


“It's great to have you back,” replied Tina, “and how did that other thing that I don't know about go? Success?”

  


Newt grinned and nodded. Tina nodded in acknowledgement. Then Newt rummaged around his bag. 

  


“I believe I owe you a book,” he said, pulling out a red leather-bound volume and handing it to her with a flourish, “not just the first copy, but the only one. Until the official launch in two weeks.”

  


Tina accepted the book. She was astonished that he'd used her title. Her eyes welled up. “Do you mind if I flip through it? Not to read deeply, as I'm here with you now, but just a few pages?” she asked.

  


“Not at all, what's it for if not for you to enjoy!” Newt pulled up a chair for her, then sat on the desk. “Tell me how you like the niffler entry…” and with that they were flipping through together, chatting about the pages and whatever else came up in an easy, comfortable flow of conversation as though they hadn’t just spent three months being an ocean apart. 

  


Newt glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it was 10 o'clock. “Fancy a walk in the park?” he asked Tina. 

  


She frowned slightly. “That doesn't sound very wise, if you get caught…” 

  


“How many people are walking around Central Park at this hour?” he challenged, “and besides, I got a new coat too. Much less noticeable than the blue one,” he gestured to a gray coat hanging on the rack. 

  


“Oh all right,” Tina gave in, “just, let's apparate and keep to quiet places.”

  


*******************************************************************************

  


“Ah, fond memories of this place,” Newt smirked as they walked past the entrance to the zoo. 

  


“Oh yes,” teased Tina, “I saw everything!”

  


“Do you mean  _ everything? _ ” Newt asked nervously. 

  


“Yes,  _ everything.  _ Including that little dance you did,” Tina grinned impishly. 

  


“Oh no,” Newt hid his face in his hands, “how incredibly embarrassing. I'm shocked you still want to know me.”

  


“Don't sell yourself short Newt, you've got some impressive talent,” Tina joked,  _ and an impressive ass _ , she added in her head, not daring to voice such a thought aloud. 

  


“Well, I'm glad someone out there doesn't think I'm completely bonkers. That makes two, you and Jacob. Three if Queenie caught a glimpse of the memory.”

  


“Oh, you're definitely completely bonkers,” quipped Tina, “but I like you as you are.” Her arm brushed against Newt's at that moment, and they stopped and stared at each other for a few moments. Then they stared out from the top of the the bridge they were standing on. 

  


“And that's where I caught you and Jacob!” she pointed at the corner of the bridge below. Then she suddenly went silent, as bad memories surfaced of all the terrible things that had happened in the hours that followed. All because of her. Newt knew that look all too well, as a veteran of the Great War. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

  


“I'm so sorry,” Tina whispered, tears pricking her eyes, “I nearly lost you your creatures. And our lives. I should never have handed you over like that!” The tears were falling freely now.

  


“No, no, none of that now,” he took her face in his hands and started stroking her tears away, “no, I was doing things that were illegal and stupid without a thought for the position I was putting you in, while you were just trying to do your job. You nearly died and it was my fault.” 

  


“But I didn't. Because you caught me.”

  


“I did catch you. I'll always catch you, Tina.”

  


And then his lips were on hers. Ever so softly at first, but then she responded, winding her arms around his neck to bring him closer. His hands left her face, one tangling in her hair and the other sliding around her waist to hold her tightly to him. They deepened the kiss and held on even more tightly, forgetting that they were just standing on a bridge in the middle of Central Park. And then, Tina remembered. She suddenly pulled back as though on fire. 

  


Newt's face fell. “What's wrong Tina? Is everything alright? If I've done something you didn't want I am so sorry, I promise it won't happen again,” he cast his eyes downward waiting for a rebuke or a slap in the face or something. 

  


“No, it's not you,” Tina started crying again, “I want to keep kissing, I want to be with you, I want it so badly! More than anything! It's just-”

  


“Just what?”

  


“It's MACUSA. Since Grindelwald's escape, they've tightened security and made new rules,” Tina explained through her sobs. Newt reached out to touch her, but she stepped back. It was all too painful. 

  


“We’re not allowed to get involved with employees of foreign governments. That means you and me, we...we can't be together. Not without risking my job, in any case.”

  


Newt was quiet for a moment, absorbing this stunning revelation. Then he spoke. “Those bloody bastards!” he exclaimed angrily, pounding his fists on the side of the bridge, “I never thought this country could get more backwards, it's bad enough with the muggles, now they're telling you which  _ wizards _ you can and can't be with?!” He was incredulous. Tina cried even harder, because he was right. This whole thing was awful. 

  


Newt gathered Tina in his arms and she sobbed into his shoulder. She knew she shouldn't, but being in his arms felt so right. 

  


“To hell with MACUSA and their bullshit,” he grumbled into her hair, “I'm here even though they said I couldn't be! So why shouldn't we see each other just because they say we can't? We'll be careful, we'll see each other in secret, we'll-” 

  


“Oh Newt, I wish!” Tina interjected, “but it's just too risky! If I lose my job, how will me and Queenie survive? What if they arrest you again? We can't risk it!”

  


“Tina, I'm willing to risk everything for you, we can figure out a way-”

  


“I'm sorry Newt. I gotta go.” Tina's voice cracked and both their hearts broke. 

  


“I understand,” said Newt thickly, tearing up himself, “just know, I'm still here till Monday, in case you want to talk about a way...and I'll be back in England waiting for you whenever you're ready or MACUSA changes their rules.” 

  


He squeezed Tina's hand, and she squeezed back in acknowledgement before slipping it out of his. Then she disapparated. Newt stood for two more minutes in the frosty night, watching his breath stand still in the air before dejectedly disapparating back to his room. 

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First kiss, yay! But angst, oh no! Stay tuned...


	3. Fateful Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can Queenie help Tina work through her heart-wrenching dilemma?

Queenie was waiting up for Tina when she got back. Her hopeful smile fell as soon as she was hit with Tina's raw pain. “Oh Teenie,” she grabbed her older sister and just held her until she calmed. Then she spoke. 

 

“Teenie, I really think you oughtta try-”

 

“Queenie, one of us has got to be practical, you know full well-”

 

“No, I don't know,” Queenie cut her off, “you know I just got Jacob back today? Actually, yes, you know, I know Newt told you. And you know what we’re facing if we get caught.”

 

“Queenie, I do worry about you, but I'm not gonna stop you-”

 

“That's not the point!” snapped Queenie, “the point is that I'm facing something far worse. I could be imprisoned for a decade. But I don't care. I'm not losing Jacob again! Do you remember what I said to Jacob, just before he stepped into the rain?” 

 

“You said you'd never find anyone like him,” mumbled Tina, starting to feel ashamed.

 

“Exactly! I ain't never gonna find someone like Jacob, and now that I have a second chance, I'll risk everything not to let him go! But guess what, he's not the only one in a million guy. You ain't never gonna find someone like Newt, you know.”

 

“Of course I know,” Tina croaked as her eyes welled up again, “why do you think this is so devastating?” 

 

“Don't you get it?” Queenie pleaded, “You. Ain't. Never. Gonna find one. Why let MACUSA take that away from you? Yeah, it would be tough if you lost your job, but we'd manage, we've survived worse than that together. Besides, there are other jobs out there. But there's only ONE Newt.” 

 

_ There are other jobs, but only one Newt.  _ It hit Tina like a ton of bricks. Queenie was right. What had she done? Why was she giving up the chance for love with this one-of-a-kind wizard for a job that could be replaced? 

 

Queenie smiled. “Caught on, have ya?”

 

Tina threw her arms around Queenie. “I love you! Thank you for kicking my ass just now! You're right, I can’t let Newt go. I'm going back to him first thing in the morning!”

 

Queenie squealed with delight. “Now to bed with you, Porpentina Esther Goldstein! You're getting up early!”

 

“Right chief!” Tina jokingly saluted her sister, and then sauntered off to their room. She changed into her pajamas and collapsed into bed. 

 

But sleep did not come so easily. All night long, Tina tossed and turned, running everything in her head. She was excited to show up at Newt's door and tell him they could make it work. But what if he'd given up already? He said he'd be there until his scheduled departure, but still...and what if they were caught? She'd made up her mind to risk it, yet still it was scary...when she finally did fall asleep, it was uneasy and not for very long. She woke to a sky just getting the first pinpricks of light on the horizon. The clock on the wall read ten to five. No sense going back to sleep now, may as well make her way over. Within twenty minutes, she was dressed and ready for what could be the most important visit of her life. She apparated directly to the hallway in front of his door. 

 

Newt answered her knock and stood there for a moment tousle-haired and bleary-eyed and not entirely believing what he was seeing. Tina threw her arms around him and kissed him soundly. After a few surreal moments, Newt pulled her closer to him and stumbled them both into the room, kicking the door closed. They continued kissing fiercely for several minutes, gripping each other tightly. “What brought you back?” he breathed giddily against her lips. 

 

Tina pulled back for a minute to reply, “Queenie really gave me a figurative kick in the ass and I realized she was right,” she explained, giving him another quick kiss, “I was so stupid, Newt! There are loads of other jobs out there, but only one of you…”

 

Newt responded by scooping her off the ground and kissing her even more deeply. Tina allowed herself to be swept away and lost in Newt's arms and lips. Eventually, they floated down back to earth and took a break, still smiling and giggling. “Well, we do still have to figure things out,” Tina remarked, “we’re gonna have to keep this under wraps for the time being.” 

 

“Agreed,” said Newt, “for starters, let's stay in until I go back Monday morning. Or at least, not be seen outside together.”

 

“And we'll have to be careful while I'm in England,” Tina added, “I was originally planning to take lunch with you and go out at night when we could, but I don't think that will work.”

 

“No, it won't. We'll need to meet up after hours, in my flat or your hotel room. Tina,” he took both her hands in his, “I am so happy you came back, and I intend to make you your happiest.” He kissed her again, but broke off for a yawn. “Forgive me, I really didn't sleep much last night.”

 

“Me neither,” Tina yawned in reply. 

 

“Perhaps we should lay down and sleep a bit?” Newt gestured towards the bed, then realizing the potential implication, he cleared his throat, “I mean literally sleep. Just sleeping. We both need it.”

 

Tina laughed and let Newt take her hand and lead her to the bed. She sank into the comfortable mattress, and felt Newt's arms envelop her just before she slipped into a peaceful sleep. They both awoke closer to noon feeling well-rested and spent the rest of the day laughing, talking, playing with Pickett and of course, kissing and holding each other. 

 

As night fell, Newt asked Tina to stay. “Only because we only have one day left together, and I want to spend every possible minute together that we can.”

 

The following morning, Queenie and Jacob came by with a bunch of goodies from the bakery. They spent much of the day just being together as a gang once more. It felt good to all be together again, even though they weren’t doing anything quite as exciting as last time. Jacob was a bit disappointed that the case wasn't there, but understood why. “Next time, next time” he reassured himself, “one of these days I'll make the trip to England and then we can enjoy the case again.”

 

Tina stayed over Sunday night too, as Newt was leaving first thing Monday morning. 

 

“I know it's silly,” said Tina, as she slid into Newt's embrace for the night, “but even though it's only a week, I think it'll be harder than the three months we just spent apart.”

 

“I do agree,” Newt pressed a kiss to her temple, “but it's not silly. The situation is a bit different from our last parting. But we'll manage. Like you said, it's just a week.” They kissed each other good night and soon dropped off to sleep.

 

The next morning, they lounged around for way longer than they should have, neither of them wanting to get up and face their inevitable parting. But time slipped away and they could put it off no longer. They got up, got ready, and went over the plans one more time.

 

“We can walk to the corner together and say goodbye, just without touching,” said Newt.

 

“And remember, when I arrive next Tuesday, I'll have a few hours free, so as soon as I can get away, I'll come by your office,” Tina replied. 

 

“Beasts division, level four. Third door to the left off the lift, got a plaque with my name on it.” 

 

They approached the door. After one last hug and lingering kiss, they faced the door and walked out without the slightest brush of hands. They exited the hotel, walked to the corner and said goodbye again, as friends. Tina watched the back of Newt's gray coat until it disappeared into the crowd. She sighed sadly, but regained her composure quickly. Back to work. And just a week until they could see each other again. 

 

She started south when she was snapped out of her reverie by a familiar voice. 

 

“Goldstein! What brings you to this neighborhood? You don't live over here.” Abernathy jogged up beside her. 

 

“Friend in town for a few hours. We just met up for coffee and breakfast before it was time for me to head to work,” said Tina automatically, without missing a beat. 

 

“Well, I hope you enjoyed yourselves,” said Abernathy brightly, “see you around!”

 

“Yeah, see you around” said Tina with a feigned smile as they turned into a convenient alley for apparating, “No, I’m good,” she replied as he offered his arm for her to hold. She disapparated quickly before he could respond and then hurried through the magical doors as soon as she arrived at the Woolworth building. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry for the shameless fluff :-) There's more where that came from!


	4. Off To England

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina is off to England for six weeks as part of a liason team. Finding time to be alone with Newt will be a bit of a challenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a clarification: MACUSA is still working together with their allies in the face of Gridelwald's threat. However, all countries have classified information that they keep secret even from friends, and that's why MACUSA has their paranoid rule against personal involvement with foreign government employees while still working closely with foreign governments.

The big day finally arrived. Queenie stayed with Tina up until it was time for her to step into the international floo grate. 

 

“Please be careful, Queenie, you know I worry,” Tina murmured as she hugged her sister tightly.

 

“Aww, Teen, you know I will be,” Queenie replied.

 

“I’m your big sister, it’s my job to worry! I’m really gonna miss you.”

 

“It’s only six weeks, not so long. And besides,” Queenie winked, “you’ll be with someone better than me, you won’t have time to really miss me!”

 

“Shh! Queenie! Not here!” Tina looked around wildly in a panic.

 

“Calm down, no one’s listening to us,” Queenie rolled her eyes, “and you know, one of these days, we’ll both be able to put this behind us and just live freely. The four of us will be a family one day, you mark my words.”

 

“You’re getting ahead of yourself, Queenie,” Tina sighed, “but yeah, it sure would be nice. A family, yes. One day.”

 

“Oh, one more thing,” Queenie pressed a small vial into Tina’s hand, “just in case you find you need it,” she winked.

 

“”Queenie!” 

 

“Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it,” Queenie admonished in a sing-song voice. Tina rolled her eyes, but shoved the potion in her pocket away from prying eyes. 

 

“Last call, 10 AM floo to Ministry of Magic, London!”

 

The two sisters looked around, and gave each other one last hug. Tina waved brightly as she stepped into the warm green flames, and saw Queenie blow her a kiss just as she whooshed away. 

 

After flooing directly into the Ministry and going through their customs department, the team was directed to the local floo grates so they could head to the Leaky Cauldron. They sat in the bar area while Graves gave them their schedule for the rest of the day. 

 

“The keys to your rooms are being handed out now,” he informed them as keys began to float around the room, “now, we’ve just traveled 3000 miles and our bodies are still on New York time. I’m giving you all a few hours to rest up. We’ll meet back down here at 7 local time to go over the schedule for tomorrow and some other general memos. At 9, you are all to take your first dose of time-adjustment potion, and the second dose first thing in the morning. By tomorrow afternoon, I expect we’ll all have gained our bearings. Now, up you go, and be back here by 7!”

 

Tina made sure she was the last one to file upstairs and as soon as she was sure everyone had moved well ahead of her, she doubled back down and snuck into the floo room to head back to the Ministry. She considered the grand fountain in the atrium for a moment then found the golden elevator (“lift”, as Newt had called it) and took it to level four. She made a left, and saw the door with the plaque reading  _ Newton Scamander, Beasts Division.  _

 

She had hardly rapped on the door when it flung open, and Newt swiftly pulled her inside. As soon as the door shut behind them, Newt scooped Tina into his arms and kissed her fervently. Tina responded with equal enthusiasm for a few seconds, then suddenly pulled back.

 

“Newt, what if someone walks in?”

 

“Unlikely, but you’re right, we need to be more careful. Let’s take this into the case.” 

 

He set the case on the floor, opened it, and took Tina’s hand to lead them down. 

 

“So where’s Bunty?” Tina asked as they made their way through the shed, “I was hoping to meet her.”

 

“I gave her the afternoon off, I wanted to guarantee us some time alone,” he smiled as he swung back in for another kiss, this one quite a bit tamer than a few minutes ago, though still just as full of love and adoration. “Would you like to say hello to everyone?”

 

“Yes, I’d really like that,” Tina smiled as they stepped out of the shed and into the heart of the case. Dougal was already there to greet them, showing himself in honor of Tina’s return. She gave him a big hug. 

 

After making the rounds and reacquainting herself with the case and its inhabitants, they came to the now empty Arizona habitat.

 

“You miss Frank, don’t you,” Tina remarked, sympathetically patting Newt’s arm. 

 

“I do, but it was always the plan to release him,” Newt replied, “and besides, I have a new Thunderbird now.”

 

“You do?” 

 

“I seem to recall you telling me that was the name of your school house?” Newt looked at her quirking an eyebrow. 

 

Now catching on, Tina smiled radiantly, “That is correct.”

 

“In that case,” Newt lifted Tina up and placed on down on the rock that had once served as Frank’s perch, “I do, in fact, have a Thunderbird in here right now.” He dropped his arms to her waist, and Tina circled hers around his neck. They touched their noses together and resumed their kissing. 

 

The kissing grew heated and they soon found themselves both laying down on the rock and running their hands all over each other. Tina, who had never gone beyond heavy petting, soon found herself encouraging Newt’s hands toward the buttons on her blouse. 

 

“You sure?” he asked, trailing kisses down her neck.

 

“Yes. I-I want to try a little bit.”

 

“Of course. You just let me know as soon as you want to stop,” he assured her, “I mean that, you never have to do anything you don’t truly want to do.” 

 

Tina smiled and kissed him some more as he worked on the buttons. She soon felt him cupping her through her camisole and moaned happily. Just as he was starting to slide his hands under the camisole, she heard someone clearing their throat, and it wasn’t Newt.

 

Newt must have heard it too, as they jumped apart in a complete panic. Tina ducked behind the rock to button her shirt back up, still not knowing who had just caught them and blown their cover. 

 

“Oh fuck me,” Newt muttered as he jammed his hands into his pockets and stared at his shoes. 

 

“No thank you Newton, though it sure looks like she might take you up on it,” his brother Theseus drawled, gesturing toward Tina, whose face was peeking out from above the rock as she desperately worked on getting her shirt buttoned and tucked back in. 

 

Newt flicked a nonverbal bat-bogey hex at Theseus, who deflected it effortlessly. 

 

“I thought you’d know better than to try to hex an auror, now that you’re boffing one,” he retorted. 

 

“What do you want, Thes?” 

 

“You know, I did come down here for a reason, though walking in on my little brother necking has completely driven it from my mind and now I can’t remember what it was,” Theseus teased, “Now aren’t you going to introduce me? Why are we panicking? We’ve all been there.” 

 

Newt had joined Tina behind the rock. Neither of them knew how to handle this. One hour into the visit and they were already found out…

 

“Oh wait, I know what this is about,” Theseus broke the silence, “you need me to keep quiet, don’t you?”

 

“Please,” Newt began, “it’s just that there’s been-”

 

“Oh I know all about the new policies in America,” he cut in, “don’t worry, there’s no way I’m going to enable those fuckwits at MACUSA and their moronic rules. I assure you, I’ll take it to the grave. Not Mr. Graves,” he chuckled at his own joke. 

 

“Alright then, formal introductions,” said Newt, standing back up and coaxing Tina with him, “Theseus, this is Tina Goldstein, Tina, you now know the ass that is my brother.” 

 

“Charmed, Miss Goldstein. My brother is quite the riot, isn’t he?”

 

“Yeah,” was all Tina managed. Despite her relief that Theseus was on their side, she was absolutely mortified at how he’d just walked in on them. 

 

“In all seriousness,” Theseus continued, “I haven’t seen my brother this happy in decades, and I genuinely appreciate it. Should you ever tire of MACUSA’s bullshit, you are fully welcome in my auror department here at the Ministry.” 

 

“Thank you,” Tina murmured, still unable to look him in the eye. 

 

“Now I still can’t remember why I came to find you, Newt, so if you don’t mind, I’m going to go use a scouring charm on my eyeballs after what I’ve just seen. Enjoy your stay, Miss Goldstein, I hope we can meet properly at some point.” He sauntered off leaving both Newt and Tina blushing at the floor. 

 

“So, um, yeah. That’s Theseus,” said Newt, shaking his head, “I’m sorry about that.” 

 

“I don’t know how I’ll ever look him in the eye again,” Tina groaned.

 

“Well, assuming we’re continuing this…” Newt gestured to both of them, “you’re going to have to get past it, he is still my brother, even if he is an ass.”

 

Tina suddenly caught a glimpse of her watch. “Oh no, I need to be back in 20 minutes!” 

 

Newt followed her as she dashed back to the shed and up the ladder. “So what’s the plan for tomorrow?” he asked. 

 

“I don’t know the schedule,” Tina said hurriedly, “but I’m in room 302 at the Leaky Cauldron. I’ll send an owl to your apartment tonight as soon as I know more, ok?”  

 

“A fine idea love,” Newt kissed her one last time before seeing her out of his office. 

 

Tina sprinted to the floo grates and got back to the Leaky Cauldron with five minutes to spare. She ran her wand up and down herself to tidy her appearance and then sat down in the bar area ready for the meeting. 

 

Abernathy slid into the seat next to her. “Hey there, I didn’t see you around at all this afternoon, I guess you never left your room!” Tina grunted in reply. “Must have had a nice beauty rest, huh?” Tina started politely edging away from him. Then Graves walked in and the meeting began, to her great relief. 

 

Tina was utterly exhausted as she climbed up to her room at 9 pm. She hoped the time adjustment potion would help even without her having rested earlier. Nevertheless, her afternoon with Newt had been more than worth the trouble. As she drifted off to sleep, she thought happily of how she had six glorious weeks ahead of her to be with him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, not much plot here, just some fluff and humor, but I still loved coming up with this chapter. Hope it was a good read!


	5. The Book Launch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> March 19th, 1927. Newt's book launch party. Due to the need for secrecy, the party is not as enjoyable for Newt and Tina as it should have been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should have noted this earlier, but want to clarify that where there are differences between British and American expressions, I try to use the British when writing from Newt's perspective and the American when writing from Tina's. I'm American, so apologies if I miss something with the British.

Over the next few days, Newt and Tina constructed a tentative routine. Theseus was elated to act as a go-between, which was a convenient way to avoid arousing suspicion since as an auror, he was working closely with the American liason team anyway. Tina was still too mortified to talk to him much, and he took every opportunity to tease her about Newt, but she went along with it because it was the safest and most efficient way to communicate with Newt during the day. 

 

Tina went to visit Newt in his flat every evening, as it was safer than him coming to the Leaky Cauldron even though she had a room all to herself. The tricky part was getting back to her room every night. Many of the other team members spent their off hours lounging by the bar, often till quite late. She had to time her return to when there would still be enough people milling about that nobody noticed she was just arriving. On Thursday night, she had gotten back a bit too late and had to disillusion herself before walking through the bar area. While disillusionment was helpful in a pinch, she still had to be careful. Aurors were pretty good at spotting the slight distortions that marked the outline of a disillusioned person, so she didn’t like relying on it unless absolutely necessary.

 

On Friday night, they needed to discuss their plans for the book launch party the following evening. The party was to be held at the Ministry and most of the American team was planning on attending, not because any of them cared about Newt and his book but because they took any excuse to party during this trip abroad. 

 

“I had been imagining dancing the night away with you ever since the party was first scheduled last month,” Newt sighed, stroking Tina’s hair as she snuggled into his chest, “but of course given the need for secrecy, that’s not going to work. Quite disappointing, but nothing we can do about it.”

 

Tina hummed in agreement and Newt continued, “we could have one dance together, if you think we can manage to make it look friendly. And don’t take it personally if I pretend not to know you. That just means you’re too stunning for me to pretend we’re just friends, which now that I think of it is an extremely likely scenario,” he explained, tucking a strand behind her ear. 

 

“Are you going to have to dance with other girls? Am I going to have to dance with Theseus?” Tina wrinkled her nose.

 

“You don't have to do anything, though he'll probably ask,” Newt chuckled, “as for me, I will desperately try to avoid dancing with anyone else, and if I can't, I'll hate every second of dancing with anyone who isn't you,” he hugged Tina even closer to him and peppered her face with kisses. 

 

“Aww, so gallant,” Tina teased, “and you know, I still can't look your brother in the eye, it doesn't help that he keeps making stupid puns about what happened the other day whenever he can get away with it.”

 

“He is actually being helpful though, for once in his life,” Newt shook his head, “and he did offer to cover for us after we leave the party, just in case anyone notices something.”

 

“So we are going ahead with our private celebration afterwards?” Tina reached up to tangle her fingers in Newt's hair.

 

“Indeed,” Newt smiled back, “you can floo back here whenever you’ve had enough. I don’t expect to be able to leave until the end, but I'll get home eventually. And then we have all night…” They resumed their kissing for several minutes. 

 

“Newt?” Tina suddenly pulled back and piped up timidly, “do you want to, you know…with me?”

 

“Yes, very much so,” he breathed into her ear, then, realizing what might be driving her question, quickly added, “do you want to?”

 

“Well, um, yes. Yeah, I really do but...but…” she stammered, trying to figure out the best way to put it.

 

“You’re not sure if you’re ready?” Newt finished for her. She nodded nervously. “Then it doesn’t have to happen tomorrow night. Or next week. Or next year. Tina, I mean it every time I say you never have to do anything you don’t want to do. I love you Tina, and your needs will always be my top priority.” 

 

“It’s-it’s not just that…” she continued slowly, “I haven’t ever done it, and I’m...well, I’m a little scared. Even though I have no reason to be-”

 

“That’s completely understandable, and it’s normal to both want to and be scared at the same time,” Newt assured her, “and my stance remains, it’s completely your choice when you feel ready, and I am happy to wait for however long you need to.” 

 

“Have-have you…?” 

 

“Yes,” he said quietly, “but never out of love. It, um, happened a number of times during my travels. It was always a mutual understanding of being together a night or three before parting ways. So when I’m with you, it will be a first for me too, in a way,” he kissed her lips sweetly. 

 

“I love you Newt,” Tina told him when they broke apart.

 

“I love you too, Tina. Oh no, the time!” he blurted out, as he caught a glimpse of the clock on the wall, “you need to get back!”

 

“Awww,” Tina pouted, “time’s always up way too soon!”

 

“I know,” Newt agreed, “but you’re staying over tomorrow, so that will be nice.”

 

“You’re right. I can’t complain,” Tina said, reluctantly extricating herself from Newt’s arms, “until tomorrow, then!” With one last kiss and hand squeeze, she stepped into Newt’s fireplace to head back to her room for the night. 

 

As she settled into bed for the night, she thought about what Newt had said. It was comforting to know that whatever ended up happening tomorrow night, she would be safe. Newt really did love her. Not that she'd doubted it until now, but knowing how much he valued her needs really cemented it for her. With full contentment, she fell into an easy and restful sleep.

 

***************************************

 

Tina sighed as she pulled out the dress Queenie had made her specifically for the launch party, a navy blue beaded creation that stopped mid-thigh and plunged both in the front and the back. She had gone and made it the day Tina received the invitation to the party. That was before the escape and the new rules that had followed. The dress had been made with the intention of knocking the breath out of Newt before that would have been a problem in public. Tina didn't even really want to go to the party now, though of course Newt needed her there. Even if she couldn't openly be there for him, the knowledge that she was there would help him get through the party, which she knew he’d been dreading for weeks. 

 

As she rummaged around for her earrings, Tina came across the small vial of potion Queenie had given her just before she left. She considered it for a moment. She still wasn’t sure if she wanted to take the next step tonight, and she knew she didn’t have to. But knowing that it was a possibility, she decided to heed Queenie’s words about being prepared. She would be covered for 30 days if she took it now. With a tap of the wand, the vial was open and she drank the contents with one gulp, then resumed getting ready for the party. 

 

Tina arrived at the Ministry a few minutes before 7, hoping to possibly catch Newt for a private moment before the evening began, but there were already people milling about. All she was able to catch was a two second smoldering look from Newt before he pointedly turned away. She smiled, knowing that she really did manage to pull off the knockout look Queenie had been going for. She wasn't insulted; Newt had warned her the previous night that he'd likely need to ignore her at the party. She took a moment to take in Newt’s appearance, in perfectly tailored dress robes that matched his blue-green eyes. His fringe was somewhat tamed, though still endearingly mussed. Then she too tore her gaze away before anyone would have a chance to notice. 

 

The party was not much fun for Tina. She did notice Newt wormed his way out of dancing more than once, which made her feel better about not being able to have him to herself for the duration of the party. They managed to share glances while he gave his prepared remarks, which went off without a hitch despite his intense dislike of public speaking. Tina mostly stayed on the side chatting with co-workers and a few ministry workers she’d come to know over the past week. Theseus even introduced her to the famed Albus Dumbledore. She knew who he was just from his noted contributions to the fields of Transfiguration and Alchemy, but more significantly, she knew all about how he’d helped Newt in the difficult aftermath of his expulsion from Hogwarts, and for that, she was extremely grateful. 

 

While she stood sipping a drink between conversations, Abernathy sidled up to her. “Hey, Goldstein, how’d you like to take this dance?” he proffered an arm. 

 

“No thanks, I’m not really one for dancing,” Tina replied coolly. 

 

“Aw, come on, it’s a party, live a little!” he seized her her wrist and tried to pull her out to the dance floor. 

 

Tina quickly shook him loose, taking care not to make a scene, “I told you I don’t dance,” she said through gritted teeth. At just that moment, Dumbledore passed right by them and proclaimed loudly, “Excuse me, Miss Goldstein, there’s someone I absolutely must introduce you to, come this way,” he waved her over to him. Tina shrugged at Abernathy, who backed off politely as she followed Dumbledore. 

 

“Everything all right there?” he dropped his voice as soon as Tina caught up to him, “I hope that fellow wasn’t bothering you too much.” 

 

“I’m good now,” she replied in relief, “thank you, sir, for, uh, for your timely interference there. I really do appreciate it,” she looked up gratefully at the tall bearded wizard. 

 

“Always glad to be of assistance,” Dumbledore smiled and his blue eyes twinkled before he turned around and sauntered off. 

Tina decided there wasn’t much point in staying after that. She found Theseus to let him know she was leaving so that he could pass the message on to Newt. 

 

“Of course,” said Theseus, “I’ll see you out.”

 

“It’s alright, I’m good,” said Tina, who still couldn’t handle speaking with him more than was absolutely necessary. 

 

“Allow me to at least see you out of this room so no one follows,” he muttered inclining his head towards Abernathy and Graves, who she now saw were a bit too close to the exit for her liking. 

 

“Alright, thanks,” she replied as they headed out.

 

“Enjoy my brother,” he winked at her as they approached the door, then he turned toward Graves and exclaimed loudly, “Percival, how nice of you to come tonight! And Mr. Abernathy, is it? With International Magical Cooperation?” Abernathy arrogantly puffed out his chest at being addressed by the esteemed war hero. 

 

With the three men now engaged in small talk, Tina was able to slip out and head to the floo room without anyone noticing. She still didn’t know whether to hug Theseus or deck him. Newt would probably tell her both, she chuckled to herself as the green flames whisked her to Newt’s living room. 

 

At a quarter to twelve, the hearth finally lit up. Tina quickly stood up and straightened herself out, and strode over just as Newt stumbled out. “I am so glad that tedium is over and done with,” he remarked, then pulled Tina in for a kiss. 

 

“Now this is how it’s supposed to go,” she giggled as they broke apart. 

 

“Indeed. Now, let’s do this book launch celebration properly,” he pulled out his wand and pointed it at his phonograph which started to play. He bowed to Tina like a gentleman and proffered his hand, which she took, still giggling, and placed her hands on his shoulders as he placed his around her waist. 

 

“Now I can properly appreciate how beautiful you look tonight,” he told her, “I’m so sorry that I had to spend the evening making a point not to look at you.” 

 

“Oh, I had the same problem,” she smiled shyly, “so I’m now taking the time to properly appreciate how dashing you look tonight.”  

 

They danced for a few minutes, but soon the dancing morphed into simply swaying slowly while embracing tightly, their noses and lips grazing. They kissed as the clock struck 12, and soon after found themselves stumbling into the bedroom as things heated up. 

 

“Tell me to stop and I will,” Newt breathed into Tina’s neck as he trailed kisses all the way to her shoulder.

 

“Please, keep going,” she moaned, guiding his hands to the hooks at the back of her dress…

 

After they were finished, they lay sprawled on the bed in a tangle of limbs and sheets until they came back to themselves. Then they found their way into a comfortable spooning position and stayed that way, Newt gently dropping kisses on Tina’s neck and Tina gently dropping kisses on Newt’s arm that lay across her, until they eventually dropped off to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is mostly filler, but I did want to show the party. It also offered a nice excuse for more fluff, more creepy Abernathy, and a cameo by Dumbledore :-)


	6. Difficult Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All manner of difficult encounters: A raid. A close call. Some very unwanted attention. Will one of these encounters be the one to expose our favorite couple?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up: this chapter contains most of what the warning tags are warning about.

Newt and Tina woke up the next morning and lounged around in bed just holding each other and savoring their time together. Eventually Tina had to reluctantly peel herself away and get dressed in a hurry. Although it was Sunday, the team was expected to work today, though starting somewhat later than usual.

“I’ll be back tonight as soon as I can,” she assured Newt, kissing him before heading to the Ministry. Newt just planted a quick kiss in reply and waved as the flames swept her away. 

Despite getting out of bed quite a bit later than she’d meant to, she managed to make it in just on time. 

“Goldstein!” Graves’ voice rang out behind her, and she wheeled around, panicking on the inside. Was he somehow aware that she’d never returned to her room last night?

“You look like you could use a bit of this,” he smirked as he handed her a small bottle of anti-hangover potion.

“I actually didn’t drink that much-”

“Don’t argue, Goldstein,” he cut her off holding up his hand, “you’re all bleary eyed and your shirt’s inside out,” Tina looked down in a panic and realized he was right, “don’t be embarrassed, we all had a good time last night. There’s a reason I’m standing here handing these out, you’re hardly the only one.” 

“Thanks, Mr. Graves, sir,” Tina mumbled, taking the bottle without looking Graves in the eye. 

“It’s alright to party a bit, but remember to look after yourself,” he called out as she shuffled off to her desk, “we all need our wits about us for this job!”

Tina was feeling uneasy. She had no reason to believe Graves suspected her of breaking any rules; he seemed to really think she was just hungover from the festivities. Still, she didn’t like that she was being watched so closely. As she tapped her shirt with her wand to fix it the right way, she made a mental note to be more careful about presenting a professional face every day no matter how tired she was. 

During the next two weeks, Tina had little time for sleeping between working long hours and trying to spend as much of her spare time with Newt as possible. She was extra careful about hiding her fatigue so that Graves wouldn’t notice and start prying. She trained as hard as ever in advance of an upcoming raid, scheduled for no later than the 4th of April, earlier if the situation became too urgent to wait until then. On the evening of the 3rd, she spent the night at Newt’s, knowing that she might not come back. She wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about the raid, so he was unaware that everything they did that night was potentially for the last time. She did inform him she’d have to leave at dawn in order to get back without being noticed. He did not question this, just returned her goodbye kiss when she got up to leave before rolling back over to sleep for another hour until the creatures woke up. 

Bunty came running into Newt’s office at the end of her lunch break, pale and panicking, with the news.

“Mr. Scamander! Everyone’s talking about it, a raid went awry, dozens of aurors, both British and foreign have been injured! I have no idea how badly, but your brother-” 

Newt jumped up as though his chair was on fire. He suppressed the urge to ask about any Americans, and instead inquired after his brother, “Theseus! Do you know of his status?” 

“I’m sorry, I haven’t been able to get much information,” she said apologetically, “it’s just, I heard your brother was there and figured you ought to be informed right away. You should go look in on St. Mungo’s, I’ll look after everything until you get back.” 

Newt thanked her and strode off to head to the hospital. Was it safe for him to go to the hospital? Well, if anyone asked, he could say he was there for his brother. Which was true, he was just as concerned about Theseus as he was about Tina. Still, the thought that Tina might be gravely injured and that he might be kept from her side was excruciating.

He couldn’t believe that just last night they had been together in his bed, and now he might lose her forever. Why, oh why, hadn’t he said a proper goodbye this morning? He shook himself out of his thoughts. He didn’t even know if she was among the injured, she could very well be just fine. Theseus too. Still, he had to get to the hospital if he was to find out any reliable information. 

As he reached the atrium, he saw Theseus running urgently toward him. He had soot and cuts all over his face and his shirt was torn in several places. A deep cut on his upper arm was bleeding profusely. But he was here instead of at St. Mungos, so it couldn’t have been that bad. Newt started running to him and the two brothers embraced. 

“It’s alright, Newt, I’m fine, see?” Theseus stepped back and gestured to himself.

“You don’t look alright, but I’ll trust you given that you’re conscious and not in St. Mungo’s,” Newt replied wryly. 

“That’s the spirit!” Theseus grinned his usual cheeky smile.

“And Tina…?”

“Of course, your brother shows up looking like he’s been through a meat grinder, but you’re asking after-”

“Theseus!”

“Alright, alright! She’s fine too,” he assured Newt, then seeing the skeptical look on his face, “she was also mildly injured, but released from St. Mungos after a quick mending.” 

“Mending…?” 

“She broke a few bones,” explained Theseus, “which of course the healers were able to mend in about two minutes, however, a broken bone from a spell is rather more complex than from an accident. She’s mended but still very sore and needs rest. She’s been ordered to stay off her feet for a few days, so she was discharged but sent back to her lodging.” 

Hearing the detailed explanation, Newt believed his brother and breathed a sigh of relief. Tina was going to be alright. She was not in any danger now.

“And the other aurors?” he inquired.

“Thank Parcelsus, everyone is expected to live,” replied Theseus, “it was a rough situation, but it could have been a lot worse. We’ve all got a lot to be thankful for today.” 

“What do you think about my visiting Tina at the Leaky Cauldron later?” Newt asked. He desperately wanted to be at Tina’s side and do whatever he could to make her feel better. 

“The lass is recovering from being hit by three dark spells, and all you can think about is your next fuck, eh?” Theseus teased. Newt gave him the death glare. “Alright, alright, you just want to hold her hand and be at her side. I think we can make it work, if you and I go for drinks together at the pub, which would certainly look plausible, and then you can wander upstairs at some point. Listen, I do need some patching up in case you haven't noticed. Meet you back here at 6, alright?” Newt nodded as Theseus clapped him on the back. 

At 6, the brothers met by the floo grates. Theseus had patched himself up though still looked as though he'd encountered the wrong end of a Hungarian Horntail. They floo’ed together to the Leaky Cauldron and sat in the pub for awhile. As usual, Theseus did most of the talking (and drinking) while Newt just looked around waiting for an opportunity to sneak upstairs. Because of the events of the day, it was rather subdued and not particularly crowded, so Newt found an opportunity to go up after only an hour. 

He rapped lightly on Tina’s door. He heard some rustling and shuffling and after a full minute, Tina opened the door and ushered him in wordlessly. Only after the door was shut and locked behind them was Newt able to take in Tina’s appearance. She was wearing a bathrobe on top of pajamas. Her hair was messy and she looked paler than usual and rather shaken but otherwise none the worse for the wear. 

“Newt, what are you doing here? How did you manage-” she started.

“I heard what happened and had to come be with you,” he cut in, “don’t worry, I was very careful. That’s why I wasn’t here hours ago.” 

Tina accepted that the fact that he hadn’t rushed to her immediately did, in fact, mean that he had been prudent and not taken any unnecessary risks. Newt took her hands in his and kissed her softly on the lips. Tina suddenly winced.

“Don’t worry, you didn’t do anything, I just can’t stand for too long,” she assured him. She started shuffling back to bed, and Newt offered his elbow for support, which she gratefully took. Once Tina was situated back in bed, propped up with pillows, she patted the space next to her inviting Newt to lay down next to her.

“Theseus gave me a quick synopsis, but I won’t believe it’s really nothing until I hear it from you,” he told her as he settled next to her.

“I did get hit with some dark spells that had ricocheted,” Tina explained, “it would have been a lot worse had there been a direct hit, but I still absorbed some of the dark magic. I broke my right leg, two ribs, and my left shoulder.” 

Newt gathered her very gently into his arms and kissed her forehead as she described her injuries. “As you know, broken bones are simple to mend,” she continued, “and they were able to mend them as soon as I was brought in. But because my injuries came from dark spells, there is some residual damage that will take time to heal up. So they want me resting up for three days and taking some potions.” 

“I’m just so grateful you’re alright,” Newt sighed, “does it hurt much now? Is there anything I can do?” 

“I’m real sore, you can see I can’t stand for long periods,” said Tina, “but I’m not in too much pain. Just your being here with me is helping! And I’ll let you know if you squeeze me too hard or anything,” she assured him as she turned to face him and kiss his cheek. 

Newt responded by capturing her lips with his. He stroked her hair gently as she laced her fingers with his. They remained like that for some time, just gently kissing and holding each other. Suddenly, there was a loud rapping on the door, which caused them to break apart and sit bolt upright. 

Tina quickly grabbed her wand from the bedside table and smacked Newt hard in the head. He bit his lip to keep from making a sound, and looked quizzically at Tina for a split second until he felt a cold, trickling sensation. He then nodded at her as his body disappeared to show he understood she had just disillusioned him. Then, as Tina shuffled out of the bed (just as there was a second round of knocking), Newt slid into the closet for good measure. He kept the door slightly ajar so that he could follow what was going on. 

Tina opened the door and frowned. “What are you doing here?” she asked in a very annoyed tone and quickly angled herself so that only her head was visible to whomever was at the door.

“Can’t a guy check up on how his injured colleagues are doing?” came a man’s voice that Newt recognized but couldn’t quite place. 

Tina crossed her arms, still frowning. “There are others still in the hospital. And I’m not really your colleague anymore.”

“I already made my hospital rounds, now I’m checking up on those recuperating here. And while you are no longer in my department, I am still technically your superior, plus we’re both here as part of the liason,” came the man’s reply, “now, how are you coming along?”

“I’ll live,” said Tina wryly, “I should be back to work in three or four days.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Say, how’d you like to come with me for some drinks downstairs just as soon as you’re back on your feet?” 

“No thank you, Mr. Abernathy,” she told him bluntly.

Now Newt remembered where he knew that voice from. And he did not like the way this conversation was going. 

“Awww, Goldstein! I guess I’ll just have to try you again when you’re feeling better and in a better mood!” Abernathy exclaimed, as Tina heaved the door shut. Only when she shuffled back to her bed did Newt emerge from the closet. 

“You can lift the charm, it’s safe now,” Tina called out in his general direction. As soon as Newt reappeared, he got back into his spot next to Tina. 

“What was that all about?” he asked delicately.

“Ugh, Abernathy,” Tina rolled her eyes, “the office creep. He bothers me, and Queenie, and a bunch of others like that all the time. Makes crass comments, ‘accidentally’ brushes up against girls, things like that.”

Newt felt his blood pressure rising. “How come nobody does anything about it?” he grumbled.

“What would anyone do about it?” Tina asked resignedly, “it’s par for the course at most places. I’m just glad I got out of the wand permit office…” 

As she trailed off, it suddenly dawned on Newt why Tina had been so practiced at ducking under her desk at the wand permit office. It seemed that questions about the Second Salemers weren’t the only reason she had been so keen to avoid Abernathy while working there. 

“Well, what about Mr. Graves? Does he really allow his workers to behave like this?”

Tina laughed sarcastically. “Mr. Graves? Allow? He does it himself! He’s a bit more subtle these days, though I suppose he’s had more time to perfect the art than Abernathy’s had,” she huffed and continued bitterly, “and let’s just say, Graves’ hands have done more travelling than you have, especially with the fresh, young recruits.” 

Newt was incredulous hearing about what Tina had to put up with at work. “But...but…” he sputtered.

Tina put a hand on his shoulder. “It's awful. I almost quit when I was new recruit and Graves regularly grabbed my ass during training sessions,” Tina looked down and away before continuing, “and an older female auror I discussed it with shrugged and said if I really wanted to be an auror, I had to leave it alone. So I did. Graves hasn't touched me in awhile, so it's easier to tolerate his crass comments. And now that I'm back on the investigative team, I'm usually able to avoid Abernathy, though he still pops up around me way too often.”

Newt was now holding Tina protectively, wishing desperately that he could hide her from lecherous colleagues forever. He did not fail to notice how matter-of-factly she had just described her daily ordeal. “How come you never said anything to me?” he choked out, as anger towards both Graves and Abernathy bubbled up inside of him.

Tina shrugged. “I guess 'cause it's just such a regular part of my day it never occurred to me to bring it up.”

“How is this normal?!” Newt blurted out, “surely there's something that can be done!”

“Any witch will tell you that's how it goes at work,” explained Tina, “it's not right, I wish it weren't so, but that's how it is. I'm lucky, Queenie gets it a lot worse, especially since she can hear exactly what they're thinking…” 

Newt couldn't really think of how to respond to that other than to simply hold Tina closer. He could not change what she had to endure, but he could show her every day how deeply he loved her and cared about her well-being. When he went back home later that night, he made a note to himself to keep an eye on Abernathy. 

The following evening, Tina was much improved, able to walk around the room and all. Newt was still gentle with her and they did not do more than kissing and cuddling as Tina wasn't feeling up to more. 

“Oh, right, I should tell you,” she informed him as he got ready to leave for the night, “I'm gonna be downstairs tomorrow evening, the last of the injured aurors are being released tomorrow morning and Graves wants to have a party honoring all of us who got hurt in the line of duty.”

“So does that mean I won't be seeing you tomorrow?” Newt asked.

“No, I think we can. In fact, I'd really like to, I don't even want to go to the party,” she scowled, “but I have to. Come around 9 or 10 and hang out unobtrusively by the bar until everyone goes up. Then we can come up here.”

“Sounds like a plan, love,” said Newt, kissing her goodnight before leaving. 

**********************************************************************************

Tina looked through her options for what to wear to the welcome back party. Her dress from Newt's party was not the only one she'd brought, as she'd known there might be other occasions for dressing up. Still, she wasn't thrilled with her choices. All she could think of was unwanted attention from Abernathy. She eventually settled on the dress she'd worn to The Blind Pig when they were trying to find Dougal. She smiled, thinking of Newt's reaction to seeing the first dress he’d ever seen her in. 

Tina milled about the room making small talk with various colleagues and swapping accounts of what they’d each just been through. As much as she wanted to drink a little, she avoided the bar because she knew Abernathy would find her there. When Newt arrived and sat at the bar alone, ordering himself a drink and pretending to read the newspaper, she felt relieved. His presence was comforting. People started making their way upstairs but there were a lot of stragglers sticking around far too long for her liking, Abernathy among them much to her consternation. Finally, the last revelers walked towards the stairs and Tina, after covertly signaling Newt, started walking up herself.

“Hey, lemme walk you back,” Abernathy's voice rang out as he jogged across the room to catch up with Tina, “we didn't get to hang out all night!”

“Really, I'm good,” said Tina, turning her back and quickening her pace up the stairs. Newt was watching from his seat; as soon as he saw Abernathy follow Tina closely after she'd told him no thank you, he decided to follow them. He held back until he could no longer see them, then padded up the stairs silently, just the way he did when tracking creatures. As he approached the bottom of the third flight, he heard Tina's voice ringing out through the stairwell.

“Get off me, you creep!” she was shouting, and as Newt looked up the flight of stairs, what he saw made him sick to his stomach. Abernathy had Tina pinned against a wall, and was attempting to kiss her neck while groping her breasts through her dress. Tina was attempting to push him away.

“Come on sweets, why you playing so hard to get?” he chuckled as she struggled against him. 

Newt pulled out his wand, but waited for Tina's next move. He knew full well how capable she was of protecting herself, she was an auror after all. He thought she might prefer to take the lead and for him to just back her up if she needed a hand. 

It got worse. “Stop! Stop it! Leave me alone!” she yelled as Abernathy slid his hand up her thigh. Tina tried to squirm away then kicked him in the shin; he winced but did not let go. 

Newt was so livid he forgot all about being Tina's backup and took matters into his own hands. He pointed his wand at Abernathy and-

BANG!

Abernathy was knocked back several feet and down to the ground. Newt charged up the stairs toward him. Just as he was getting back to his feet, Newt lifted him by the collar and slammed him hard against the wall. He gripped Abernathy’s collar tightly while pinning him to the wall with his elbows.

“What the fuck is your problem?!” Newt said softly, but with unmistakable rage in his voice. 

“Easy there fella, I'm in the middle of a date here, if you don't mind!” Abernathy grunted while struggling against Newt. 

“Oh really?” Newt huffed, giving Abernathy another shove, “how fucking difficult is it to understand the word ‘stop’?!” he growled through clenched teeth. 

“And what's got you up in a wad?” Abernathy smirked defiantly. Then understanding dawned on his face. “Wait a second, Mr. Scamander. You ain't just trying to defend Ms. Goldstein’s honor here. You want her for yourself, don't ya? Not that I blame ya, she's a mighty fine piece of ass!” Newt gave him another angry shove at that, which Abernathy seized on. 

“You do want her, don't you?” he chuckled nastily, “well, guess what? You can't! MACUSA don't allow their aurors to fool around with foreigners!”

“It is unacceptable to do that to any woman!” Newt exclaimed angrily. 

“Yeah, but would you come out wand blazing for just any woman?” Abernathy goaded him. Newt was caught off guard and his grip slackened for a moment.

He then recovered from his momentary lapse and gave Abernathy another hard shove against the wall. “Miss Goldstein is a friend of mine. And I don't take kindly to anyone hurting my friends, whether male or female.” 

Abernathy resumed struggling against Newt's powerful grip, trying to come up with another retort. “Well what are you doing up here anyway? You live in London, surely you don't need a hotel room,” he smirked triumphantly. 

“The landlord Tom sent me up here to check out a possible chizpurfl infestation,” Newt replied without missing a beat. 

Now out of retorts and getting exhausted from struggling, a pained whimper inadvertently escaped from Abernathy. 

“I'm going to step away now, and you're going to go right back to your room and stay there,” Newt demanded menacingly, “and going forward, you leave Miss Goldstein the fuck alone! Are we clear?” 

Abernathy nodded as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. Newt gave him one last shove, then released him quickly, causing him to stumble. 

Abernathy slinked out of the stairwell and down the hall and Newt followed him with his wand still out, not taking his eyes off him until Abernathy had gone into his room and locked the door. 

Once he was sure the coast was clear, he turned back to Tina, who had already opened the door to her room. After one last quick glance around the hall, she swiftly pulled him inside and shut and locked the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! That was intense! But Newt has me swooning!


	7. A New Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina worries about what Abernathy might do for revenge. Might this result in discovery?

Newt escorted Tina to her bed, where she sat down trembling. “Shall I send for some tea, love? Or perhaps something a little stronger?” he asked, as he bent down on one knee, taking her hands in his. 

 

“No, water’s good,” she said shaking her head. Newt got up and waved his wand to summon a cup from next to the remains of Tina’s potions from St. Mungo’s. “ _ Aguamenti!”  _ he muttered, filling the cup with water and then handing it to Tina as he sat down next to her. 

 

Tina took two sips then set the water down and fell into Newt’s arms, burying her face in his shoulder. Newt held her tightly to him, rubbing soothing circles on her back, and softly kissing her hair. They stayed like that until Tina had calmed down and stopped trembling.  

 

“I love you, Newt!” she whispered, “thank you for everything.”

 

“And I love you, Tina,” he murmured into her hair, “you’re safe now, I’m right here.” 

 

Tina looked up from Newt’s shoulder into his eyes. They brought their lips together, and Newt felt Tina relax fully into his embrace. Then, she suddenly pulled back and put her face in her hands.

 

“We’re in such trouble now,” she moaned, “we’re really in for it! Why’d you have to go after him Newt, you know I can look after myself!” 

 

“I know, love, but you didn’t, and it soon became apparent that you weren’t going to,” Newt said bluntly. 

 

“Well, it’s a tricky thing, you know,” Tina began as she lifted her head to look back up at Newt, “but I can’t do anything too drastic, I still have to work with the guy! I really can’t do anything that would mean I can’t face him the next day.”

 

“Funny how he didn’t seem to mind that he’s going to have to face you at work the day after feeling you up without your consent,” Newt replied crossly. 

 

Tina squeezed Newt’s arm, with a dejected look on her face. “I already explained to you, that’s how it is at work, and not only for me. We have no choice but to put up with it if we want to keep our jobs.”

 

Newt caressed Tina’s face. “This is so wrong,” he said helplessly, “and I’m sorry that I cannot make it stop. You deserve better. All I can do is be here for you, and that seems so useless…”

 

“It’s not useless,” Tina sighed and leaned into his touch, “it means everything to me that you’re here for me no matter what. But we have a more immediate problem now.”

 

“And what is that?” Newt looked at her quizzically.

 

“He knows. He knows about us now and if he doesn’t get me fired right away, he’s going to try to hold it over my head somehow,” Tina said fearfully.

 

“He has no proof,” Newt replied hopefully, “he suspected, but has nothing to go on. And I think I came up with pretty good answers to his questions considering the pressure of the moment.”

 

Tina shook her head, “you don’t know Abernathy. His sleaziness extends beyond what you saw tonight. Even if he does believe you, you pissed him off and now he’s not gonna rest until he digs up some good dirt on you.” 

 

Newt sat quietly for several minutes. Tina had found her way back into his arms, and he just held her and stroked her soothingly as he considered what she’d just said. 

 

Eventually he broke the silence. “Tina, we’ve been seeing each other secretly for over a month now,” he started, “and while I can’t say I like that we’ve been forced into secrecy, being with you is worth all the hassle of this covert operation. I never brought up anything about discussing a timeline for coming forward because I didn’t want to pressure you. I still wouldn’t, but...well, it seems that timeline may soon be decided for us.” 

 

“What are we going to do Newt?” Tina asked tearfully, “of course there’s no longer a question of making a choice. I’m yours, Newt, I won’t let MACUSA keep us apart. But what will happen to me and Queenie? What if the Ministry doesn’t have an opening for an auror and Theseus can’t make good on his offer for awhile? How will we manage?” 

 

Newt was once again quiet, turning Tina’s concerns over in his mind. The solution was actually quite simple, but...no, there was no way she’d accept that, it was too soon. Or was it? How much longer would he be waiting without any of these considerations? Surely not too much longer. It hadn’t been much time, and yet, was there any doubt as to where this was headed? He couldn’t imagine it any other way at this point…

 

Newt cleared his throat. “I’ll take care of you, Tina,” he began, “you’ve nothing to worry about on that score.”

 

“But-but how?” stammered Tina, “paying for two apartments is going to be stretch and we won’t be able to get away with sharing one!”

 

“We wouldn’t need two flats, nor would we be doing anything scandalous,” said Newt firmly. This was it then, he had set himself up to do it right now. He took Tina’s hand in both of his and got up from the bed only to bend down on one knee. “Tina, will you marry me?”

 

Tina sat there in shock. She blinked several times. This was all happening so fast. Well, if she was being honest with herself, she had been hoping to end up here at some point. She loved Newt so much she couldn’t imagine any other outcome. And yet, how could she leave Queenie and everything she’d ever known behind just like that? But then again, what would waiting longer change? She knew what she needed to know; really, she was no less ready for a life with Newt now than she would be later.

 

“Yes,” she breathed, so softly Newt had to strain to hear it, then she stood up and said it a little louder, “yes! Yes, I will Newt!” As he slowly stood back up, Newt’s face showed a happy disbelief, the very same expression he’d worn at the docks when Tina had said yes to his coming back with his book, to wanting to see him again. Tina repeated her answer once again after Newt stood, “Yes, I will marry you!” Newt swept her up and kissed her soundly, then set her back on her feet, where they kissed some more, gripping each other tighter than ever. 

 

Suddenly, Newt stepped back and Tina looked at him with a puzzled expression. He walked over to the nightstand where in addition to her medications, Tina had all sorts of accessories strewn about, including some jewelry. Newt picked up a bracelet. “How important is this bracelet to you?” he asked.

 

Still very puzzled, Tina replied, “it’s nothing special, like I wouldn’t be too broken up about it if the niffler got ahold of it or something,” she shrugged. “Why do you ask?”

 

Newt pulled out his wand and gave it a few taps, transfiguring it into a ring. “Since my proposal was a bit, uh, unanticipated, this is the best I can do for a ring right now. I can always get you a proper ring and change this back later if you want your bracelet back.” He got back down on his knee and said, “alright, once again, properly this time. Tina, will you marry me?” 

 

Tina laughed as she said yes once more, and pulled Newt back up for another searing kiss as soon as he’d slid the ring on her finger. “I love it,” she assured him, “it’s perfect. I don’t need my bracelet back.” 

 

Worry soon clouded Tina’s face again. “What will Queenie do? How can I leave her behind?”

 

“She can come here too!” said Newt excitedly, “she and Jacob can't maintain secrecy forever any more than we can. And it's actually dangerous what they're doing. Unless Rappaport’s law changes, which I frankly doubt will happen anytime soon, they're going to have to leave the country if they're to stay together.” 

 

“I guess, but they have their whole lives there, they probably can't just uproot themselves next week,” Tina remarked. 

 

“So it may take some time. We'll be here waiting for them. We can-we can-” he was smiling so widely he could barely get the words out, “we can be more than a gang of friends, the four of us will be a family!”

 

Tina thought back to when Queenie had said those exact words to her just before she left on this trip, and the smile spread to her face too. She and Queenie had both been dreaming of exactly that in recent weeks.

 

“You're right, I think Queenie will be thrilled with the plan,” she said as happy tears welled up in her eyes, “though I suppose I'd better send her an owl right away. To ask if she's ready to take the leap. And, well,” she held up her left hand, smiling as the ring caught the light, “I think she might want to hear about this.” 

 

Tina walked over to the little table where her things were scattered about and rummaged around for some writing supplies. Newt sat patiently on the bed as Tina sat down to write. They kept stealing happy glances at each other. Tina kept the letter short and sweet, and then folded it up and placed in the pocket of her uniform jacket. 

 

“It's written, I can wait till the morning to grab an owl,” she yawned as she plopped down next to Newt, “Newt, will you stay with me tonight?”

 

“Of course, love.”

 

“I don't want to...just hold me, alright? I'm still a bit shaken from, well…” she trailed off. 

 

“Understandable,” Newt murmured into her hair as he gathered her close, “Always up to you. I’m here, you're safe.” 

 

After changing into pajamas, they settled in under the covers. Tina snuggled up to his side and he held her left hand, playing with the ring. Tina suddenly remembered something. 

 

“We still need to stay secret as long as we can, at least until I hear back from Queenie,” she said, “like you said, Abernathy doesn't have any proof, so hopefully that will buy us enough time to get things in place before I have to part ways with MACUSA.”

 

“That does make sense,” Newt agreed, “I shall speak to Theseus first thing in the morning about seeing if there's room for you on his team.”

 

“So that means…” Tina slid her hand out of Newt's and gazed at her ring for a moment, “well, I'm going to have to hide this until we can be open.” 

 

Newt nodded in understanding as Tina reached for her wand. She tapped the locket she always wore and slipped the ring inside as soon as it opened. Then she tapped it again to close it and put her wand back on the nightstand. 

 

“Right next to my heart,” she smiled as she held the locket against her heart. Newt smiled back and placed his hand over hers. Not long after that, they both dropped off to sleep, with their entwined hands loosely around the locket. 


	8. The Last Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina is called in for a meeting with Graves. Will she be fired or will she quit? Either way, she can finally move on with Newt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit more stuff that fits the warning tags.

The following morning, Newt and Tina awoke to tapping sounds at the window. “Sounds like one of us has got an owl,” Newt mumbled, still half asleep. 

 

“I’ll get it,” yawned Tina. She stretched and then stumbled out of bed to open the window. What she saw woke her up quicker than a cup of coffee ever could. She recognized it as an official owl, bearing a letter with the MACUSA seal. She took the letter, poked a few treats at the owl, and with shaking hands slit the envelope. 

 

The letter was short and to the point.

 

_ Miss Goldstein, _

 

_ Meet me in my office as soon as you arrive this morning. _

 

_ Director Percival Graves _

 

“Newt, I need you over here now!” she shouted out, jolting Newt out of his sleepy haze. He jumped up and rushed to her side. Tina said nothing, just handed him the letter. He frowned as he scanned it. 

 

“Is there any possibility this could be about some other matter?” he asked her.

 

“I mean it’s possible, but nothing I can think of. I have a bad feeling that Abernathy has relayed his suspicions about us to Mr. Graves…” she trailed off, trying to think but her brain whizzing in a thousand different directions. 

 

“I think we’re going to have to plan for the worst,” said Newt, placing his hands on Tina’s shoulders and looking her in the eye, “which honestly isn’t so bad because it just means being revealed a couple of weeks earlier than what we planned last night. We should be able to manage.” 

 

“A lot depends on what they think they know,” said Tina, starting to pace the room as she formulated her thoughts, “if they have no actual evidence, I can probably buy us some more time to get our plans in place. If he’s going to fire me on the spot, then, well, you’re right, we can’t control that and we’ll just have to manage, which I’m sure we will.”

 

“When I go in, I’ll head straight to Theseus,” Newt said as he hurriedly got dressed, “and you should send that owl to Queenie before you go in to see Graves.”

 

“Agreed,” said Tina, pulling on her auror’s jacket and checking the pocket to make sure her letter was still there, “also, we’ll need to leave this room separately.” She looked out the peephole and saw no one there. “I think you’d better go first, Newt, I don’t know if everyone’s left yet or people will be leaving soon. Disillusion yourself as a precaution, and be quick getting out of here.”

 

“If I finish with Theseus first, I’ll meet you in the corridor by the international offices, if you finish first, you wait out there for me, I'll find you,” Newt advised. Tina nodded in agreement. Then Newt took Tina’s face in his hands and looked straight into her eyes. “It’s going to be OK, love,” he assured her while caressing her, “no matter the outcome, we have each other, we are getting married, and you are not alone.” 

 

Tina nodded silently and kissed Newt. Then they parted, and Newt tapped himself with his wand. “See you on the other side,” he joked as he blended into the background, drawing a dimpled smile and a small laugh from Tina. 

 

Tina waited ten minutes after Newt left the room before heading down herself. She first took a quick visit to Diagon Alley to send her letter to Queenie. Even using express owls, she did not expect to hear back from Queenie for at least a week. She sincerely hoped Graves was merely suspicious and planning to conduct an investigation, which would buy her some time. With the owl sent, she could no longer put off going in, and so with a leaden feeling in her stomach, she headed to the Ministry.

 

Tina found herself standing in front of Graves’ office by ten after nine. She knocked on the door and heard a grunt of “it's open”, so she entered the room, staring at her shoes. The door shut behind her, and with great trepidation, she looked up to face Graves, but found herself facing Abernathy, who was wearing a very smug smile.

 

“Where's Mr. Graves?” Tina demanded, crossing her arms defensively.

 

“In a meeting with the Minister of Magic. I'm the one who sent you that letter,” Abernathy answered, chuckling at his perceived brilliance. 

 

Tina’s right hand instinctively traveled to her holster, ready to draw her wand. Abernathy strode towards her, leering. 

 

“You might want to listen to what I have to say before trying to attack me,” he threatened, backing Tina into the wall, “I guess I should start by letting you know you're finished. Unless, of course, you start doing whatever I tell you to,” he began sliding his hand up Tina's blouse at those last few words. “And don't bother to attack me,” he whispered in her ear, “because if you leave me with any visible injuries, I'll testify that you assaulted me without cause. You won't have any proof of acting in self defense.” He groped her left breast to punctuate his threat. Tina recoiled, but did not dare pull out her wand or try to push him away. 

 

Abernathy pinned Tina to the wall and continued enthusiastically groping her while continuing his monologue. “I spoke to Tom this morning, you know, the innkeeper guy. There is no infestation of any sort that he knows of,” he grinned wickedly, “you've got something going on with that Mr. Scamander. You two are seeing each other, I know it! You’ve been fucking that foreign bastard, haven't you? MACUSA will know it too if you don't do whatever I say.”

 

Backed into both a literal and a figurative corner, Tina had no choice. There was no buying time, her position at MACUSA was finished right now. So she faced Abernathy, smiling, much to his bewilderment. Tina clarified the reason for her grin with two words: “I quit!”

 

“Excuse me?” Abernathy found himself caught off guard.

 

“I said I quit! Go ahead and tell Graves about your suspicions, because I'm quitting! I'm done with MACUSA'S bullshit and I'm moving on!” 

 

She lightly shoved Abernathy so that she could wriggle away from grip, but he was right back on her, pinning her to the wall. 

 

“Remember,” he said, sliding a hand to her rear and giving it a pinch, “attack me and it'll be all the worse for you…”

 

Tina was quickly thinking of how best to get him off her without injuring him. She shoved him at the chest, taking care not to knock him into anything. She got enough space to slip away, but at the last second, Abernathy grabbed her sleeve, tearing it. Tina stumbled and he took the opportunity to grab her around the waist. She flailed in his grip, but in her caution to avoid kicking him, she tipped them both over and they fell to the floor. She immediately started crawling for the door. Abernathy reached for her ankle, but Tina was quicker to her wand and shouted “ _ Protego! _ ” putting up an invisible shield between them, the force of which pushed him back a couple of feet. She took the opportunity to scramble to her feet and run out the door. 

 

Newt was waiting for her down the hall, just as he said he would if he finished first. He looked up as soon as he heard the door and saw Tina running toward him. He ran toward her and caught her as she flung herself into his arms, at which point he realized that she'd clearly just been involved in a scuffle. 

 

“Tina!” he embraced her tightly, “what happened? Are you hurt? It's alright now, I've got you, Tina,” he murmured soothingly. 

 

“Abernathy! He lured me in there to attack me,” Tina hurriedly explained while trying to catch her breath, “but I'm alright, I fought him off. It looks a lot worse than it is,” she assured him as he massaged her arm where the sleeve was ripped and pressed several kisses to her forehead. 

 

“Oh, and you can assume we're exposed now,” she continued matter-of-factly, resting her head on Newt's shoulder, “he tried to threaten me with it, but I didn't take the bait, so he's going to tell Graves, unless I get my resignation there first.” 

 

“Let's find Mr. Graves then and get this over with,” Newt replied, hugging her tightly and kissing her forehead again. However, at just that moment, Abernathy stepped out of Graves’ office. 

 

“Aha! So it is true! You're done for, Tina!” he yelped triumphantly. 

 

“I already told you, moron, I don't care because I quit!” Tina shouted in defiance.

 

“Well, where are you gonna go now?” he taunted, “did your Englishman promise you a job at the Ministry? Because I got news for you, MACUSA will never allow it, you know too much!” 

 

“Actually,” Newt stepped in front of Tina, causing Abernathy's taunting smile to vanish, “you seem to forget that your obliviation department has a special squad for former employees, to make sure they don't share sensitive information after they leave. So long as she submits to that, MACUSA cannot prevent her from joining the Ministry.” 

 

Newt then pulled his wand out and approached Abernathy menacingly. Abernathy started slowly walking backwards as Newt walked towards him pointing his wand. 

 

“As for you,” Newt continued in a low, seething voice, “you are going to learn to keep your fucking hands to yourself and leave women the fuck alone!” He backed Abernathy into a wall and aimed his wand at his chest. “You will stay away from Tina, and from her sister Queenie too, who is just as much a sister to me. You keep away, you hear now? Or You. Will. Fucking. Pay.” Newt prodded him with his wand four times with those last words, singeing four wand-tip shaped holes in Abernathy's shirt. Abernathy, having already once been on the receiving end of Newt's surprising physical strength, didn't need telling twice. He scurried off down the hall and away from Newt and his wand. 

 

Newt kept his wand pointed in Abernathy's direction and slid his other arm protectively around Tina's waist. Tina rested her hands on his chest and her head on his shoulder. Abernathy kept turning around to look back at them, his expression a mixture of disgust and defeat, until he turned the corner and was gone. 

 

“Are you really alright?” he turned back to Tina as soon as Abernathy was out of sight, fully taking in her disheveled appearance.

 

“Yeah, it's just a rip in my blouse, I'm not hurt or anything,” she replied, pulling out her wand and quickly mending her sleeve. “And thank you for looking out for Queenie too. That...that really means a lot to me.” She threw her arms around Newt's neck and hugged him tightly. 

 

“I meant what I said,” he replied as he drew her in closer, “she's just as much my sister as yours. And soon enough, she officially will be…” Thinking of their upcoming marriage, Newt gazed giddily at Tina for a moment before kissing her softly.

 

“Let's go find Mr. Graves,” Tina grinned as they broke apart, “because I've got a resignation to hand in!”

 

Arm in arm, they started walking off to the minister’s office. Suddenly Newt stopped. “One more thing,” he said, fingering her locket. He pulled his wand back out and tapped it. It opened and the ring tumbled into his hand. He closed the locket back up and slid the ring back on her finger. “Now that we don't have to hide…” he smiled and laced his fingers with hers, and they walked on hand in hand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it! Tina is finally free of MACUSA and she and Newt can finally be open and move on with their lives!


	9. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Epilogue. Tina resigns. The gang of four reunite.

Handing in the resignation went a lot more smoothly than Tina had expected, probably because Newt had come with her and Graves generally respected the “territory” of other men. In any event, Tina didn't have to say much and Graves didn't yell or insult or anything. She arrived hand in hand with Newt and Graves understood right away. 

 

“As you know the rules, I'm assuming you've come here to resign and not to flout them in my face while asking for special consideration,” Graves said bluntly. 

 

“Yes, sir,” replied Tina confidently.

 

Graves looked the couple up and down, sizing Newt up and appraising Tina's ring. He waved his wand to summon a stack of forms over. 

 

“Sign these,” he instructed, “just some standard termination agreements, confidentiality, permission to obliviated, and all that.”

 

Tina took a quill and worked her way through the stack while Graves started working on a letter to the President. Tina handed the stack back and turned to leave. 

 

“Good luck, Goldstein, and congratulations,” said Graves to her back. 

 

“Thank you, sir,” replied Tina, turning back momentarily. Graves nodded in acknowledgement and then she quickly followed Newt out the door. 

 

Queenie Goldstein received the owl bearing Tina's letter on the same day that Seraphina Piquery received the owl from Mr. Graves containing a stack of forms accompanied by a letter explaining that one Ms. Porpentina Goldstein was no longer employed by MACUSA due to her carrying on with a British Ministry employee. Queenie went into work that morning planning to pen her response to Tina later. However, upon her arrival at work, she was escorted to the Internal Affairs department, where she was informed that they wanted to investigate her role in the matter of Tina’s relationship with an employee of the British Ministry. If Queenie was found to have had knowledge of the relationship without informing MACUSA, her employment would be terminated as well. Queenie immediately resigned rather than allow Internal Affairs to interrogate her. 

 

She had already decided to talk to Jacob about starting to make arrangements for an international move as soon as she'd read Tina's letter that morning. However, it had seemed less urgent when she understood that Newt and Tina had not actually been discovered but were planning to reveal themselves soon because they had reason to believe they would be discovered shortly. Now that she had confirmation that MACUSA did know about them, the matter seemed much more urgent. Although she had no reason to think that anyone suspected her of seeing a No-Maj, it emphasized the great danger of what she and Jacob were doing. She was afraid to wait. And so, despite the complications involved in moving their entire lives overseas, Queenie and Jacob found themselves on a ship headed for England just three days later. Sail first, figure out logistics later…

 

_ 6 months later _

 

After a happy reunion at the docks with Jacob, the two couples apparated to Dorset. Jacob hadn't seen his new home yet, only heard about it from Queenie's letters. 

 

“It's perfect!” he exclaimed, eyes welling up, “I can't believe you guys managed to arrange this!” he gestured to the two identical cottages right next door to each other. 

“See, Teenie, I told you it would happen one day!” Queenie exclaimed delightedly, “now that Jacob's back, the four of us can live as a family!” She had not let go of Jacob, nor stopped beaming from the moment he'd come out from customs. 

 

Tina and Newt beamed right back. It really was surreal that they'd finally managed to pull it off, with the considerable obstacles in their way. 

 

After Jacob settled in, they sat together in comfortable reclining chairs out in their shared garden in the back.

 

“So this is what you guys have been working on the last five months,” remarked Jacob.

 

“Well, a few other things too,” replied Newt, “when in the span of ten days you have two engagements, two resignations, an international move, and a double wedding, there might be a few loose ends to tie up after the honeymoon...as you well know.”

 

“And do I!” exclaimed Jacob “figuring out how to open a second bakery in another country, keep the first one, transition to having someone else running it with me only there a few times a year, and all of that keeping me apart from Queenie for the the first five months of our marriage...it's been quite a ride.”

 

Queenie was resting her head on Jacob's shoulder. Newt was holding Tina who was sprawled out on his lap as he stroked her hair. They exchanged guilty looks because they had been able to spend the last five and a half months as normal newlyweds, while Queenie stayed behind when Jacob went back to New York after their honeymoon to work everything out. 

 

“Stop, none of that!” Queenie piped up, “if it weren't for you, we wouldn't all be together again at all! And now the hard part,” she adoringly kissed Jacob's cheek, “is over and we can really start living!”

 

“Now when was it you said you can start at work, Tina?” Jacob inquired.

 

“Starting on Monday!” Tina piped up excitedly, “and about damn time!”

 

“Theseus did try to move it along,” Newt explained, rolling his eyes, “but at least when it comes to bureaucracy, the Ministry is no better than MACUSA.” 

 

“No, MACUSA definitely worked hard to make things difficult, even after I underwent the required obliviation of classified information,” Tina cut in bitterly, “having to take written and practical equivalency exams to get licensed over here was the least of the headaches. MACUSA dragged their feet on providing references and information for the background check. I don't know why I didn't leave sooner, I'm well rid of those ass clowns!”

 

Both Newt and Queenie nodded vociferously in agreement. 

 

“But here we are, it all came together in the end!” Jacob sighed happily, giving Queenie an affectionate squeeze.

 

“This calls for a toast, now you're back, Jacob,” said Newt, summoning a bottle of wine from inside while Tina conjured four glasses. Queenie waved her wand to make the bottle fill each glass. 

 

“I wanna be a wizard!” Jacob whined.

 

“But you're one of us now!” exclaimed Queenie. 

 

“Are we gonna have to listen to you guys repeat this exchange a million times for the next hundred years?” Tina groaned jokingly. 

 

“Of course!” said Newt, “and I wouldn't have it any other way! To our family!” he raised his glass.

 

“Our family!” Tina, Queenie, and Jacob chorused back. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it ends. Thank you to everyone who read an commented! I'm sad to say goodbye, this was a lot of fun to write! I hope it was at least almost as fun to read :-)

**Author's Note:**

> I have no posting schedule, but I have the first few chapters written, and expect this to come out to 7-8 chapters plus an epilogue. I will post each day that I have a chapter to put up.


End file.
